Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Gulliver
In 1911 the Revd J.B. Leslie, Rector of Kilsaran in Co. Louth, published ‘Armagh Clergy and Parishes’. It was to be the first in a series of volumes which, diocese by diocese, recorded biographical information on Church of Ireland clergy. Some of the volumes were published in Leslie’s lifetime and others were revised, updated and published long after his death in 1952.
The men whom Leslie recorded, and of course in Leslie’s day the clergy were all men, were, for the most part unremarkable – men who served quietly and conscientiously in small parishes. Some attained local distinction in their own dioceses as deans, archdeacons and bishops, while a few achieved long lasting international reputations – for example, the theologian Jeremy Taylor, the philosopher George Berkley, and the philologist Richard Chenevix Trench.
However, of all the Church of Ireland clergy it is arguable that the figure with the most enduring fame is the 18th century Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Jonathan Swift. A poet, novelist and pamphleteer, he was a wit and controversialist who used his writings to highlight the desperate conditions in which many Irish poor lived. Yet his most enduring claim to fame is his book, Gulliver’s Travels which has become regarded as a children’s classic. Appropriately, therefore, in this the 300th anniversary year of its publication it is the subject of an exhibition in Marsh’s Library beside St Patrick’s Cathedral where Dean Swift ministered. ‘Gulliver 3000 1726–2026’ runs until 12 September – see https://marshlibrary.ie/visit/exhibitions/
National Heritage Week begins tomorrow (Saturday) and St Patrick’s Cathedral will offer a wide range of activities including guided tours, family workshops and organ recitals. On Sunday at 5.30pm Canon David Oxley will lead Evening Prayer in Irish and on Monday at 6.30pm Albert Fenton will give a talk on ‘Church of Ireland Women in the Revolutionary Period’. All events are free but booking is required.
In Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, tomorrow’s (Saturday) tour, ‘Art and Architecture of Christ Church’ by Lorcan Duffy is already booked out as are the Monks Tour on Thursday and the Tower Tour on Friday. On Sunday Lux Brumalis will sing at the 11am Choral Eucharist and at 3.30pm Evensong.
In Cork there will be daily guided tours of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral and on Friday Stephen Donner, from the University of Vienna, will give a lunchtime organ recital.
As always Heritage Week offers opportunities to visit churches which are not open outside the hours of worship. For example on Thursday Holy Trinity Church, Killiney, Co. Dublin, will be open to visitors from 2 to 4pm. Perched above Killiney Hill Road this 19th century church has a fine collection of stained glass windows including the ‘Angel of Peace and Hope’ by Harry Clarke.
Today (
Friday) the Archbishop of Dublin, together with the Revd Steve Brunn and Dr Kerry Houston will travel to India to visit Dublin University Mission to Chota Nagpur.